Meet this Weekend Division Team Featuring 1,800 English Top Division Appearances

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
This substitutes for the team Veterans in a 6-2 triumph against their opponents on October 19th (left to right) - one player, another, a teammate, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

What can you improve a stellar veteran squad who have secured back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from thirty-two matches?

Bring in a collection of ex- professionals who have played at the highest level of club football and international soccer as you aim for further honors.

A Greater Manchester team fields an amateur vets team with nine ex- top-flight footballers in their active lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Top Division Scores, Three Hundred Twenty-Five Global Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in southern Manchester and compete in the Cheshire Veterans League Top Tier.

Their squad list this campaign features 9 ex- Premier League players, with a collective 1,801 top-flight appearances.

This elite team also contains 222 top division goals and over 320 global appearances.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who scored thirty-seven scores in over 100 appearances for his former club after joining them for nine million pounds from German league side SC Freiburg in 2012.

He had his first appearance for the team in their last home game against reigning champions their rivals and scored all six scores in a six-two win - featuring a 32-minute first-half hat-trick.

The team for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as English and Liverpool forward Emile Heskey, Hull and Burnley FC midfielder George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan Athletic defender Maynor Figueroa, City duo Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and top-flight title victors Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

Together, the ex- top-flight footballers have won 15 major honors and moved for combined transfer fees of around £123m.

Household Names and International Players

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned six Republic of Ireland appearances, scoring four scores

Stephen Ireland started turning out for the team during preseason this season through good mate and current Wythenshawe player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then invited other ex-pros, who all compete in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Former Senegal striker Oumar Niasse, who scored 12 goals in 65 Premier League matches for the Toffees and even now goes to their home games, also made his first appearance versus Collegiate OB - who are located in Liverpool and wear an Blue warm-up gear as their strip.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
He played for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen Ireland told me 'come and play, it's a laugh'," commented the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a side from Liverpool and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Everton shirts - I thought this is wrong for me!

"When you still love the game and you feel you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"Those people who come and see are pleased and to make someone's day if they see us competing there and to pose us questions - it's more like the joy of us getting a place we can play, with structure of course."

Such is the bench strength at Wythenshawe, he made his debut at defender.

"It's a bit different but then, I enjoy sprinting and just go inside - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not staying' and that I'm just going to keep running.

"The running is what I'm looking for. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa is playing for the team

Unreal Scenario

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Ireland has scored 8 in 3 appearances for Wythenshawe, while Boyd hit five on his debut appearance and Joleon Lescott, a centre-half by trade, notched a hat-trick in one match up front.

Wythenshawe are leading of the Premier Tier with three victories from three and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, 38, who plays on the wing for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on the weekend - and had to tell his young son who Emile Heskey was.

Figueroa has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as featuring in over 200 Premier League matches.

"It was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League players," remarked Barrow.

"I felt I was a little awestruck facing him to be honest.

"Even Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has 60-odd England appearances.

"We competed well for a solid 20 minutes but then we had a man dismissed and it was hard.

"We literally haven't stopped talking about it - I was phoning my mum and sibling on the journey home.

"They were all really nice, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal fellas.

"Now we can't wait for the return match."

We Will Still Take the League'

Andy Kirby manages the opposition vets side, who secured the Top Division title the previous campaign, along with Paul Maguire.

"Our team scored one-nil up and had a

Tracy Cook
Tracy Cook

A technology journalist and digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering emerging tech trends and innovations.